Before moving to Adobe CC, I was able to directly open .AI files for nice, clean SW sketches. Now I have to export the .AI files to .DWG or DXF from Adobe Illustrator CC... the results aren't as clean.

You need Adobe Illustrator CS3 or later installed on the PC you are attempting to open the .ai files within SolidWorks. SolidWorks fires up Illustrator to open the file which is then converted to DXF internally the data is then imported into SolidWorks.

If you have CS6 you will find it doesn't work and you will need CS3 or later (there is an SPR 678415 - Error: Adobe illustrator version CS3 or later installation is required to import an Adobe Illustrator file to SolidWorks even with Adobe illustrator CS6 installed.) the workaround for CS6 install is to open the file and export as a dxf file.

I can find no information to say it does support the version you have. All I can say is to test it or ask you VAR to enquire on your behalf, if no support for your version is available then exporting the files as a dxf from Illustrator would be the method to employ.

So this solidworks <-> illustrator feature has been around at least since the release of CS3, which was back in 2012.

Seems like the message is still hard coded to say CS3 is required, when Illustrator is SIX major revisions beyond CS3 (CS4, CS5, CS6, CC, CC2014, CC2015).

Most users will have upgraded away from CS3 by now.

Solidworks' lack of interoperability with newer versions of illustrator is likely the result of the solidworks code not being updated to work with the newest versions of illustrator, rather than an issue with illustrator itself.

Error: Adobe illustrator version CS3 or later installation is required to import an Adobe Illustrator file to SolidWorks even with Adobe illustrator CS6 installed.

Technical Comments:

Workaround Export the Adobe CS6 file out as a DXF file and then import the .dxf file into SolidWorks

DS SolidWorks does not guarantee that this SPR fix will be available in the indicated future release of theproduct since at this time the SPR fix has not completed QA procedures that incorporate all SPR fixes and enhancements into a new version of our product.

More votes means a better chance of the defect getting noticed and fixed.

Then again, given this is probably a 45 min fix for a good dev and its been 1.5 years.....

.....*crickets*

What really sucks is that Adobe keeps burying the DXF export option deeper and deeper in menus in each new revision. So I fully expect DXF export to vanish from illustrator completely before long... That's when SPR 678415 will get finally get some attention.

I specifically asked a customer rep a few minutes ago if Solidworks imports from Adobe Illustrator. She said it did. But this thread indicates otherwise. I can't "vote" for SPR 678415 because I do not own the program, but I have no need of the program if I cannot use AI. Darn.

I previously speculated that Adobe might drop DWG export in the future, but that is purely speculation based on the fact that they have buried DWG Export deeper in the menus in more recent releases. The feature is still there.. just a few extra clicks to get there.

There has been no public statement from Adobe, official or otherwise, that says they will definitely abandon DWG export in future releases.

(my HOPE is that Adobe recognizes the necessity of DWG export and WONT abandon it, but looking at the trend, one can never be certain.)

There are no shortage of users who use both solidworks and illustrator in tandem. My job would be impossible without a good vector/art program. Solidworks is absolutely abysmal for free-form vector editing

So, if the worst case scenario came to pass and Adobe did actually abandon DWG export, Solidworks would probably (hopefully) get the message, and revisit their Illustrator Importer, which is now several years derelict.

Solidworks stands on its own & is plenty useful without the illustrator importer, but if they were even remotely serious about supporting artists, they'd fix this nonsense already!

I agree with your last statement about artists completely. The 3D niche has been expanded in our culture to include non-engineers now, and a reliable, home-user-oriented product would be nice to have. In the meantime, I've discovered that the SVG format files produced by InkScape do import into 123D Design (the SVG files from Illustrator often do not, primarily due to fonts or curves), so I may use that route for a while. SVG is a not-so-great format, but for what I am doing now I can live with it. As I advance in what I'm doing, though, I may find that I need a 3D program more capable than 123D Design (plus, AutoDesk is ending that product and supposedly merging the features into TinkerCad, which absolutely does not suit my needs at this point).

- Illustrator's bezier curves are not exactly the same as spline curves, so its possible the curve may be slightly different in SolidWorks than what you have in Illustrator.

- If you intend to get CNC cut parts (laser, router, waterjet) from Illustrator shapes, its best to use arcs; however, Illustrator does not have a built in export for arcs. There are a few plugins for Illustrator that convert bezier curves to arcs in DXF format

Thanks! At this point, bezier curves and arcs aren't a part of what I'm doing, but I may get there soon enough. :-) Right now, use of fonts as shapes is what is driving me. See my other reply to Justin today.

Most of what I do is laser cut artwork and text produced in illustrator exported as a dwg for solidworks. I use illustrator besiers for most freeform shapes because illustrator has no method for handling arc tangents.. everything has to be eye-balled, and you end up with minute hard angles, where with besiers, you can get completely smooth transitions from one curve to the next.

If your project requires extreme tolerances and you have your micrometer handy, then perhaps there is some truth to what Chris has to say.

But if that's the case, you probably shouldn't be using illustrator in the first place.

In my experience though, the conversion from AI to dwg is pretty flawless and for most "artwork" the conversion is pretty painless.

Just don't expect to edit the imported dwg splines in solidworks. Editing imported DWGs within solidworks is pretty painful. Make your edits in illustrator and re-export.

"If your project requires extreme tolerances and you have your micrometer handy, then perhaps there is some truth to what Chris has to say.

But if that's the case, you probably shouldn't be using illustrator in the first place"

If you have not had the experience of a spline curve not matching a bezier curve then you are fortunate. The difference can be significant visually. This can occur when there are very few bezier points and significant curvature. The solution is often to simply add more points to bezier curves.

From time to time I have seen a few artifacts when importing DWGs & sometimes nested entities don't behave perfectly out of the box, but these have been minor & rare occurrences that were easy to rectify in my experience. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We veered slightly off topic here & I dont want new comers to this thread to miss info about voting for SPR 678415.

Here is that info again.. If you want Solidworks to natively support import adobe illustrator files, vote for SPR 678415, as below.

Originally Posted by Justin Lee on Nov 17, 2016 11:11 AM

I wish it were easier, but here goes...

From the top of this page, mouse over the "Forums" link, with the little down arrow next to it, and click "my solidworks"

on the next page, click on "product support"

on the next page click on "knowledge base" in the right hand column

in the knowledge base search box enter "678415" and search.

Then SPR 678415 will pop up in the results list. Click on it.

Once on the SPR page, the left hand column has a set of radio buttons. Select "Yes, but notify me when this is fixed. (SPR only)" and click submit.

Viola! You just voted and performed your solidworks community civic duty.

Yeah, I would agree in many cases the issues are somewhat rare and easy to correct; however, if you are not aware that it can happen, you won't know to check for it ahead of time. You don't want to find this out AFTER you have cut costly material and the shapes don't match the customer's art.